Time Predator
by SailorChronos1
Summary: The Black Moon people have reappeared, with plans to harness the power of time itself.  It will take the help of a new Senshi to defeat them.   Takes place between S and SuperS series.
1. Chapter 1

Sailor Moon and all related characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, Toei Animation, and DIC. No copyright infringement is intended.

TIME PREDATOR  
by Sailor Chronos

Chapter One

The cratered landscape of the asteroid was barren and unforgiving.

To the scientists that observed it through their telescopes and probes, it was merely another piece of rock that circled in a lonely orbit along with thousands of others like it. Little had they known that more than a millenium before, a planet had once orbited where there was now a nondescript asteroid belt. Nor had they known that the only survivor of that planet was about to awaken.

Her eyes opened. It was so cold... but she had expected that. She lay on the ground and gradually coaxed long-unused limbs to function. As she did so, all the horrible memories of the last day of her planet's existence came into focus. The sudden attack, the destruction. A soft voice telling her that she would be protected, and would revive when her powers were needed. Then blackness.

She stood, her gaze unerringly locating the distant blue speck that was Earth. She knew that on that speck would be what she was looking for.

* * *

"Usagi!" called her mother from downstairs. "USAGI! Ami and Makoto are here! You're going to be late!"

"AAAAGHHHHH! Why didn't you call me sooner?" In her haste she knocked her alarm clock on the floor, and it bounced on the carpet and started to ring.

Startled, Luna yowled and leaped up onto the window ledge. "She did call you, several times." she said. "Get with the program!"

"Usagi!" Makoto's voice came. "If you make us late again I swear I'll- !"

That threat was enough to make her put on her school uniform in record time and bounce down the stairs. Grabbing a piece of toast from the kitchen table and stuffing it in her mouth, she managed to say, "See you later, Mom!" before picking up her schoolbag and heading out the door.

The three friends ran at top speed toward Juuban Junior High.

"Usagi, you really should try to be on time more often," Ami said. "Tardiness will reflect badly on your record."

"I was at the temple until late last night."

"Doing what? Reading the fire or reading Rei's comics?" Makoto demanded.

"Actually I was - YEEIII!" There was a crash and a scattering of books on the road, and Usagi landed on her rear end. "OWW! What happened?"

"I'd say we met in a rather unusual way," said a mellow voice with an odd accent. Sitting on the sidewalk nearby was a tall ash-blonde girl holding the remnants of a manila folder. Papers were flying about in the breeze. "Would you be kind enough to help me to pick up my assignment before we're all late?" Her expression wasn't angry, just patiently annoyed.

"Hey, you go to the high school down the street from Juuban!" Makoto said, recognizing the stranger's uniform.

"Yes I do." The girl finished gathering up her papers and books, with Usagi's help. Then she grinned, spoiling her solemn aristocratic expression. "Let's book it!"

The abbey clock was closing on eight when the four reached the junior high, and the strange girl waved as Usagi, Makoto and Ami careened into the building.

Unnoticed by the people below, two women stood on the roof of a skyscraper. "Such an awful place, so shiny and cluttered!" one said with some scorn. Her waist-length silver hair fluttered in the breeze as she gazed down. "Just wait until we get some negative energy flowing around here!"

"You said it, Argenta," said the other. She was a bit shorter and had flame-coloured shoulder length hair. "I only hope that this plan works. Those rotten Sailor brats managed to ruin all the plans that the Wiseman had."

"Wiseman was a fool to let Prince Dimando come here in the first place, especially since he was infatuated with Sailor Moon. Both of them paid dearly for that mistake. If Auburn is right, pretty soon we won't have to worry about the Sailor Senshi. Not even the mistress of time herself will be able to stop us. Let's go, Topaze. I'm getting bored."

The two grinned at each other, and the wind blew their hair about, revealing black upside-down crescent moons tattooed on their foreheads.

* * *

Rei and Minako waited at the cinema. It was getting late and they were impatient.

"Hi guys!" Usagi shouted. "Sorry we're late!"

"And you'd better have a good reason! We were about to go without you!" Rei snarled.

"Chill out, Rei," Minako said, smiling. "Usagi-chan probably just had a detention again."

"Actually there was an extra study session this afternoon and I persuaded them to attend," Ami said sheepishly.

"Usagi and Makoto studying? Now I've heard everything!" Minako laughed.

Makoto attempted to explain that she only went to admire a cute guy, and Usagi spent the whole time drawing pictures, but Usagi looked more concerned about Rei's sullen expression.

"What's with you today, Rei-chan?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, just a guy whom I thought liked me started going starry-eyed over that new girl that enrolled in the high school at the beginning of the term."

"You must be referring to me." The tall girl approached from out of the crowd. She was now dressed in a casual pantsuit and had her long hair tied in a ponytail. "I'm not here to steal anyone's boyfriend, believe me!" She winked at Rei who stared at her in surprise. "My name is Alyssa Jikanno." She made a face. "My mother was from England and she insisted on an English name, but my friends call me Lia."

Usagi's jaw dropped. "You're the new girl? You look so cool! How do you get your hair so pale?" Then she caught herself. "Sorry I ran into you this morning."

Lia laughed. "That's all right. And everyone at school thinks that I spend hours at the hair salon each week getting it colored, but it just grows that way."

"Speaking of growing," Ami cut in, "The line at the theatre is getting very long, and unless you all want to wait for ever to see the movie, we'd better get in!"

Unnoticed by the six girls, a black cat was sitting on the curb, accompanied by a little girl with light pink odango hair. "What's wrong, Luna?" the girl asked.

"I don't know, Chibi-usa. That new girl seems familiar but I can't put a claw on it."

* * *

Argenta and Topaze paced back and forth across a dark room punctuated with grey columns. At the far end of the room was a large door, which opened to admit a handsome man. He wore a gold jumpsuit in a similar style to those that the women wore, and his bright yellow hair was a stark contrast to the black crescent moon on his brow.

"Here's what we have to do, ladies. The pod will be landing in this general vicinity; if not in the city then in the outskirts. We must act quickly and retrieve it before the Sailor Senshi can interfere."

"You still haven't told us the importance of this 'pod', Auburn," Argenta protested. "For all we know it may be just another meteorite."

"It isn't. All I can say right now is that it contains a force that will allow us to take over Crystal Tokyo once and for all." He chuckled. "Rubeus, Dimando and their accomplices were trying to go about it the wrong way. Taking crystal points would have been a very slow and energy-wasting task even if the Senshi hadn't been around. With my plan, we can take it all in one blow."

"I like that!" Topaze said, laughing evilly.

* * *

The following afternoon, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako were having tea at the Hikawa temple. Usagi was laughing at yet another comic book while the others were talking about their plans for the summer break. Luna interrupted their conversation by turning on the radio. "...reports that the meteorite could land in the Sea of Japan if it doesn't burn up in the atmosphere first. It shouldn't have any effect on the environment..."

"That sounds bad!" Ami said. "If it's big enough it could cause a tidal wave." She pulled out her miniature computer.

"Or if it lands on the city it could cause a lot of damage," Artemis added.

Makoto smacked a fist into her other hand. "Could we have here another Doom Tree or ice princess? I want to have some action!"

Ami looked up from her calculations. "That's unlikely. According to this it seems to be a meteor about the size of a basketball. A meteor that size wouldn't have much left to hit the ground after coming through the atmosphere."

"I still don't like it," Rei said. "When I was reading the fire earlier it showed something approaching Earth. Something cold and dark. I think we should investigate this. Can your computer pinpoint where and when this thing is going to land?"

"No problem."

"Let's go!" Minako said and they all got up and left.

* * *

To most of the people that saw it, the falling meteor was just another flash of fire in the sky, nothing really remarkable. Two of those people were hovering a short distance above the waves as the meteor splashed into the water not far from the city's seaport.

"Let's get this over with. Auburn may have said this thing was powerful, but it doesn't look like much to me." Argenta lifted her arms and the meteor emerged from the water. It didn't look much like a meteor, though - more like a dull crystal ball that had been scorched by a blazing fire.

"Don't look now, but I think we have some unwanted snoops!" Topaze said, and pointed toward a group of girls that were on the docks.

"Well, do something! I'm busy right now, you know."

Topaze pulled an egg-shaped object from thin air and threw it toward the docks. "Droid Nautica, give those pesky girls a good scare so they won't come snooping around here again!"

The egg burst in a shower of sparkles and formed into a translucent female form with blue wavy hair. "My pleasure!" it hissed and flew towards the girls, laughing. Confident that the Droid would handle things, the two women disappeared with the crystal.

Usagi screamed, and Makoto pulled her out of the monster's way as it hurtled down at them. "It's a Droid!"

"I thought we had destroyed them all!" Rei yelled, pulling out an ofuda. "Akuryou taisan!" She threw it at the Droid but it dodged. "Damn! It's too fast!"

They all ran helter-skelter as the Droid started to throw jets of water around.

"MERCURY STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"MARS STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"JUPITER STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"VENUS STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"MOON COSMIC POWER, MAKE UP!"

The Droid paused in an alleyway, grinning to itself. "Looks like those kids won't be back for a long time," it said.

"Don't count on it, slush-face!" Sailor Moon shouted. "How dare you terrorize innocent girls! We won't forgive you for that!" Her friends lined up behind her. "For love and justice, I am the pretty Sailor Soldier Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

In response the Droid fired a huge blast of water at Sailor Moon, who screamed and dove aside.

"SHABON SPRAY!" The Droid became encased in bubbles, but it broke out of them easily. Sailor Mercury gasped.

"I'll take care of this! SUPREME THUNDER!" Jupiter let fly with an impressive bolt of lightning but the Droid simply absorbed the electricity into its body.

"Fool! Don't you know that water and lightning don't mix?" It laughed and shot a jet of electrified water at Jupiter who was unable to dodge in time and was thrown to the ground.

"FIRE SOUL!" A fireball erupted around the Droid, causing part of it to evaporate. It cried out and tried to retreat, but Sailor Venus stood in its way.

"CRESCENT BEAM!" The beam sliced through the Droid's midsection, cutting it in two.

Then something strange happened. The two sections melted and reformed into two Droids, each identical to the first only somewhat smaller. "Uh-oh," Venus commented.

Both Droids pointed a finger at Venus, who was overcome by two sprays of water. She flew backwards off the dock and splashed into the sea. "Venus!" the others chorused.

"Hahaha! And now for the rest of you!" The two Droids strode toward the Sailors, a massive water bomb growing between them.

A flash of red halted the Droids in their tracks. At their feet was a rose sticking into the ground.

Sailor Moon looked up. "Tuxedo Kamen!" Her favourite guy was standing on the roof of the warehouse.

"Even the most powerful creature has its weakness," he said. "Water is as nothing when the heat is on! Sailor Mars, I think this is your department!"

"You got it! BURNING MANDALA!" Rings of fire cascaded around the two Droids, who screamed as they began to puff into steam. "Sailor Moon, now!"

Sailor Moon didn't hesitate. "MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!" The Droids crumbled to dust, leaving only a burnt crystal with an upside-down crescent moon on it. Within seconds, even that faded away.

Tuxedo Kamen jumped down to the ground. Jupiter was recovering and had managed to sit up with Mars's help. Sailor Moon ran to the edge of the dock where Venus had been, and saw her floating on the water. "No!" she cried and was about to jump in when Tuxedo Kamen stopped her.

"She's all right, Usako. Look." At that moment, Venus rolled out of the floating position and swam up to the dock.

"I thought the best thing to do was to play dead," she said, heaving herself out of the water with difficulty. "What was that thing? It was much more powerful than any Droid we've encountered before."

"That's what worries me," said Luna, appearing from around a corner, Artemis behind her. "Droids are the servants of the Black Moon people. If there are Droids around you can be sure that Black Moon people aren't far away and they're up to no good!"

"What were they doing with that meteor, anyway?" Jupiter asked.

"I managed to get some scans before the Droid jumped us," Mercury said. "That was no ordinary meteor, but my computer couldn't scan what it was made of. It was radiating some powerful energy."

"If those were Black Moon people that we saw, they must have wanted it for a reason!" said Artemis. "We'd better get back and try to determine what they're up to."

Sailor Moon looked worried. "The last time that Black Moon people were here, they were after Chibi-usa. Do you think she could be in danger?"

The others looked at her with horrified expressions, and Luna exclaimed, "That's a good possibility! We'd better find her!"


	2. Chapter 2

Sailor Moon and all related characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, Toei Animation, and DIC. No copyright infringement is intended.

TIME PREDATOR  
by Sailor Chronos

Chapter Two

The five Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen transformed back into their normal selves and began to search for Chibi-usa, worried that the new threat might endanger her. After a while, everyone was relieved to hear Rei's voice on their communicators.

"I found Chibi-usa at the temple with Yuuichirou. She seems to be fine and wants to know if we're all going out for ice cream like we promised."

Usagi laughed, but Luna who was curled around her shoulders said, "I don't think that would be wise. We don't know what those Black Moon people are up to yet so perhaps she should stay there. It's the safest place I can think of right now."

"Good idea." Rei signed off.

"Just like you to ruin a trip for ice cream," Usagi sulked.

Mamoru put a hand on her arm. "Luna knows what she's doing. We don't know what we're up against and it's best to be on the safe side."

Usagi nodded and stepped close to him. "Do you think these evil people will ever leave us alone, Mamo-chan? It seems we have so little peace and quiet."

Mamoru was about to answer when there was a shimmering in the air. Everything in the immediate vicinity stopped for an instant, then the effect passed and all was normal again. Only the three of them seemed to notice that anything strange had taken place. They exchanged wordless glances.

* * *

Elsewhere, three friends were enjoying tea together at a restaurant. One of them suddenly stood, knocking over her cup and spilling tea on the table. She stared out the window as the others protested and tried to clean up the mess. "What's with you all of a sudden, Setsuna?"

"I felt... a ripple in time. Something powerful has appeared on Earth. Dangerously powerful."

Screams and noises came from outside, and the three rushed out to see what was going on. In the middle of the street was a hideous creature, vaguely humanoid but with a mass of green tentacles where legs ought to have been. It made a noise that sounded like half-roar, half-squeal.

"URANUS PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

The three confronted the monster. "What is that thing? Where did it come from?" Neptune was perplexed.

"Was that what you sensed, Pluto?" Uranus asked.

"No! Somehow this monster was brought here from another time and place. This is bad!"

The creature lashed out with several tentacles and started to overturn cars that were parked nearby, at the same time moving toward the Senshi.

"I don't like aliens. No respect for private property. WORLD SHAKING!" The yellow globe of energy flew from her hand and slammed into the pavement in front of the monster, but didn't seem to hurt it. "Huh?"

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Neptune tried her attack, and a giant blue-green wave of water ploughed into the alien. Again, there was little effect.

The monster extended more tentacles in an attempt to grab them, and they scattered.

"We can't seem to hurt this creature!" Neptune cried as she dodged a whipping appendage that dripped with slime. Pluto whirled her staff in preparation to use her power, but was tripped up by a tentacle and dragged toward the thing!

"STASIS DISK!" someone yelled.

A bright silver disk whizzed through the air and struck the alien. Sparkling energy crackled around it, and it was immediately frozen in place. The three Senshi looked up to see where the disk had come from and saw a tall girl in a sailor fuku that looked very like Pluto's, except the bows and trim were silver. The hem of her skirt was also silver. Her waist-length hair was pure white, and at her left side hung a sword. She bowed. "Sailor Pluto, I suggest you do the honours before my power wears off."

Bemused, Pluto freed herself and pointed her staff at the monster. "Dead Scream." The orb in the staff flared, and a red ball of energy shot out. The monster disintegrated into ions.

"Nice job," the strange girl commented. "I have to go now."

Before the other Senshi could say anything, she walked away and disappeared around a corner.

* * *

Auburn was chuckling to himself as he watched Argenta and Topaze place the meteor/crystal carefully on a pedestal in the middle of the room. "What's so funny?" Topaze asked. "This pod or crystal or whatever you call this object is sending out waves of energy that are affecting everything!"

"Except us," Argenta noted.

"Precisely." Auburn walked to the pedestal and looked at the artifact closely. "I've taken precautions to ensure that we aren't affected by it, for now. However we must be quick to make certain arrangements so we can control it later. I understand that the princess of Crystal Tokyo, who is known here as Chibi-usa, possesses a key that allows her to travel in time. We need that key."

"And how do you expect us to do that? Her friends as well as the Sailor Senshi are probably watching her every minute of the day!"

"I'm sure you can figure something out. Send one of your Droids to keep everyone occupied." Auburn dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

* * *

The same evening, Luna called an emergency meeting of all the Senshi, which included Chibi-usa, Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru. They met in a park close to the temple and traded stories of their experiences of the past few hours. The mood became grim.

"We have to get to the bottom of this!" Haruka said angrily. "Time ripples, aliens, Droids! What next? Queen Metallia?" Michiru put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

"There's also that new Sailor Senshi," Makoto said. "Does anyone know who she might be?"

Artemis spoke. "I remember that before the Moon Kingdom was destroyed, there was another planet in this solar system which orbited where the asteroid belt is now."

"Yes!" Luna exclaimed. "It was destroyed by an unknown force a short time before Prince Endymion brought word that Earth had been taken over by Queen Metallia and Beryl."

"Could there have been a Sailor for that planet too?" Minako asked.

"There may have been, but as far as anyone could determine at the time, there were no survivors of the disaster."

"That aside, we have to determine what is causing those time ripples," Ami said, typing busily at her computer. "If they continue to transport creatures here, we're looking at a serious threat."

"And, why are we unaffected by these ripples?" Michiru asked. "Could it be that because we are Sailor Senshi, we are immune to them?"

Ami nodded. "It's a good theory." She then frowned and impatiently banged the computer with her hand. "I can't get a fix."

"This all started when that meteor showed up," Usagi grumbled. "When will we ever get to have normal lives for a change?"

"The meteor! Of course!" Ami typed some more and the computer beeped. "Usagi-chan, you're right! That object, whatever it is, is the source of the time displacements."

"We still have a problem. Those Black Moon people have it, and we don't know where their base is." Makoto sighed. "Or even what they plan to do with it."

Setsuna said, "Could they be seeking to control time in some way? That is a possibility we cannot overlook. They may even hope to destroy the future Crystal Tokyo by affecting the present."

"No!" Chibi-usa cried. "We can't let that happen!"

Usagi bent down to comfort her. "It's okay, Chibi-usa. We'll find out what to do."

"Well, well, what do we have here, a party? Why weren't we invited?" a menacing voice sounded from up above. They all looked up to see a silver-haired woman hovering in the air. She gestured, and a ball of fire appeared which formed itself into a vague female shape. "Droid Solaria, crash the party and bring me what I need!" The woman vanished, and the Droid hurtled toward the group of friends!

They all scattered as the flaming Droid bore down on them, but the Droid shot a bunch of fireballs. Haruka and Ami were hit and they dove to the ground and rolled, trying to put out their burning clothes.

Makoto grabbed a large stick and threw it into the fireball that was chasing her, and it burned to ashes. Usagi, Minako and Setsuna managed to duck behind trees, and the bark got scorched as fireballs hit.

"Ami-chan!" Usagi cried from behind her tree.

"Akuryou Taisan!" Rei shouted and flung ofudas at the Droid, distracting it. The remaining fireballs dissipated.

Michiru screamed, "Haruka-chan!" and ran to her. "You'll pay for this, you witch! NEPTUNE PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

Following her lead, the rest of them transformed, with the exception of Rei who started to carry the injured out of the battle zone. "It would be better if I helped them. I don't think my powers would affect that Droid anyway! Ganbatte!"

Sailor Moon stepped out from behind the trees. "Parties are for having fun, but you must have a warped idea of fun, hothead! For love and justice and parties, I am Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

Not giving the Droid a chance to respond, Neptune took the first shot. "DEEP SUBMERGE!" Unfortunately the Droid had been expecting this and was well out of range. "Nice try!" it laughed. "Who else wants to have a go?"

"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" Jupiter's disk of electricity smacked into the Droid and it flew backwards into the wall of a nearby building.

"Is that the best you can do? Pathetic!" It tossed more fireballs and added a few flaming arrows for good measure, before charging forward.

Venus braced herself. "That trick won't work twice! VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!" Her chain whipped around and destroyed the incoming missiles. "You're next!"

Pluto aimed her staff. "Dead Scream." To her surprise, the Droid wasn't blown to pieces as she expected. Rather, it was only momentarily stunned. It halted its advance, swaying.

Neptune seized the moment. "DEEP SUBMERGE!" The wave struck the Droid, putting its fire out. Smoke and steam rose up. "Sailor Moon!"

"Gotcha! MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!"

The Droid looked up in time to see the spiral of hearts approaching, and screamed once before it perished, leaving behind its blackened crystal.

They all sighed in relief, until Sailor Moon started to look around frantically. "What happened to Chibi-usa?"

A small scream came from somewhere nearby.

* * *

"Come now, rabbit! I'm not going to hurt you, so come here!" Argenta chased the little girl down and grabbed her.

"Let me go! AAAAAHHHHH!" the girl screamed. A golden crescent moon appeared on her forehead and shot a beam of energy into the air.

This didn't faze Argenta, since she had been warned about it. Reaching with deft fingers she snagged the little chain that hung around the child's neck and pulled it off. Then she let go and pushed the kid aside. "Thanks!"

"Kidnapping little girls, how uncool can you get?" Sailor Moon appeared and struck her battle pose.

"Don't bother telling me how you're going to punish me," Argenta cackled. "I've got what I came for and I have no time to play around with the likes of you!" She waved cheekily and teleported back to headquarters, where Topaze and Auburn were waiting.

"Do you have it?" Auburn asked.

She dangled the little key. "Almost as easy as taking candy from a child. Now why don't you tell us what you need it for?"

"All in good time."

"Time. That's what this is all about, isn't it?" Topaze demanded. "You're going to use these devices to somehow destroy Crystal Tokyo?"

Auburn regarded Topaze coolly. "Smarter than you look. Yes, that's only but one part of the plan." He held out his hand.

Argenta hesitated. "I don't think if I should give it to you as long as you're keeping us in the dark. Shouldn't we know everything so we can help better?"

"Trust me, Argenta, I will tell you what you need to know when you need to know it. The key, please."

She grudgingly gave it to him and he looked at it with a smirk on his face. "Such a small thing," he observed. "But we have a much bigger purpose for it."

* * *

"Chibi-usa, are you sure that strange woman didn't hurt you?" Sailor Moon kneeled down and hugged her. The two cats ran up and sat on either side of them.

"No, she just scared me," Chibi-usa began, then began to feel around her neck. "Oh no! She took my key!"

Pluto was horrified. "The Crystal Key?" When Chibi-usa nodded sadly, Pluto stabbed the end of her staff into the ground furiously.

"That key must be found, and whoever has it must be stopped! If those Black Moon people figure out how to use it, we all are in danger!"

"What would they need it for, if they already have that crystal?" asked Makoto.

Pluto's expression slowly changed from anger to worry. "Ami said that the crystal was creating time disturbances, right? I remember an old story about a creature that fed on life forces, and had the ability to manipulate time. But of course, that was only a story."

Minako shivered. "But if such a creature were to exist?"

"It would mean the end of life as we know it," was the reply.

They were all silent as Rei came up to them. "Haruka and Ami will be all right. Fortunately their clothes took most of the damage, so they only got slightly scorched. No need to take them to the hospital or anything, but they will need new outfits. Hey, what are you all looking so down for?"

They transformed back, and Usagi suggested they they all go inside so Ami and Haruka could hear about what had happened. Both were sitting in a bath of cool water to ease their burns but were otherwise alert. Upon hearing the news, Ami wished she had been able to fight with the rest of them. "I could have tracked that woman with my computer and found their headquarters. Next time we encounter either one of the Black Moon people I'll be ready."

Haruka nodded. "And when we do find them, that silver-haired bimbo is ours." She reached up to take Michiru's hand.

* * *

A shadowed figure slipped from the trees and began to walk down the street. She had been watching the Senshi for hours, hoping to learn more about what was happening that she didn't already know. And she had; the situation was worse than she had feared. The Black Moon people had one of the items that they needed to release the thing that had destroyed her planet.

She considered revealing herself to the Senshi. They had the means to find the Black Moon headquarters where she did not. Plus two of them were now injured and there was little time to allow them to recover.

No, she must have patience. The next time they ran into difficulties, she would be there. If she was lucky she could gain their confidence, then she would be halfway to achieving her mission.


	3. Chapter 3

Sailor Moon and all related characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, Toei Animation, and DIC. No copyright infringement is intended.

TIME PREDATOR  
by Sailor Chronos

Chapter Three

"What in the universe are you doing, Auburn?" asked Topaze.

"It looks like he's drawing a pentagram around the crystal," Argenta guessed.

"What's that?"

Auburn laughed mirthlessly. "A pentagram, my dear Topaze, is a five-sided mystical drawing that sorcerors use to contain a creature they have summoned." He put the final touches on a symbol and tossed the chalk aside. Then he took the Crystal Key and put it in one section of the drawing. "Now we need but one more thing and all will be ready."

He gestured and a metal rack with five small vials in it appeared in front of him. One of the vials already contained dark energy. "In order to complete the ritual we must place one of these at each of the five corners of the design. Each vial must contain energy drawn from a person who has had contact with the temporal stream."

Argenta scowled, thinking. This was getting a little beyond her. "You mean like time travel?"

"Exactly. As you can see, one of them is already full: my own contribution to the project. I want the rest to come from the Sailor Senshi. It will be ironic that their energy will serve to complete our revenge!"

Topaze and Argenta laughed evilly, and Auburn smiled at their enthusiasm.

* * *

Ami and Haruka were well enough by the next morning to go to school, much to Ami's relief: she hadn't wanted to miss any classes. Rei and Michiru on the other hand, were exhausted, having stayed up most of the night to take care of them. Usagi had also stayed on for a while, amusing the invalids with funny stories, until her mother telephoned and insisted that she come home.

It was in the middle of lunch break when another time ripple passed through the area. At Juuban Junior High School, everything froze, with the exceptions of Usagi, Ami and Makoto. Realizing what was happening, they met in the schoolyard as time resumed its normal flow. An unearthly screech came from the soccer field and students began to run hysterically back into the building.

"Terrific!" Makoto said sarcastically. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to tangle with an alien. The three of us won't be enough to defeat it, from what Haruka said!"

"Nevertheless, we have to try!" Ami insisted.

"MERCURY STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"JUPITER STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"  
"MOON COSMIC POWER, MAKE UP!"

The three ran to the field, where they saw the alien. It looked like a huge brown hairy blob with eyes, but when the Senshi approached it changed its shape to look somewhat human.

"Schoolyards are for playing, not for fighting! We won't forgive you for ruining everyone's play time! I am the pretty Sailor Soldier, Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon, we will punish you!"

The alien gave no sign of having understood her, and threw globs of foul-smelling goo. Sailor Moon did her usual scream and dive out of the way routine. Wherever the goo landed, the grass wilted and turned brown.

"SHINING AQUA ILLUSION!" Bands of ice encircled the monster, freezing it. However, the creature managed to change shape inside the prison and shatter the ice.

"Okay, slimeball! Take this!" Jupiter shouted. "SUPREME THUNDER!" The lightning surged forward, but the thing shapeshifted again, flattening out like a pancake, and the bolt passed harmlessly over it.

Jupiter swore. "Just what we need, a smart-aleck blob! I wish Mars was here!"

In a rare show of initiative, Sailor Moon activated her tiara. "MOON TIARA ACTION!" This stunned the alien, but not enough to give them any real advantage. "Guys, let's try to super-team it!"

They fanned out and prepared to attack but the monster recovered too quickly. Extending a gooey arm, it grabbed Sailor Moon around the waist and began to pull her toward itself.

There was a sudden flash of silver between Sailor Moon and the alien, and a sword severed the appendage. The monster howled as if in pain, and Sailor Moon was yanked clear as the remnants of the arm that had held her dissolved into a puddle of mush.

"STASIS DISK!" The alien was immobilized as a shining disk hit it, silvery energy crackling all around it.

"Who..?" Sailor Moon asked, staring. The person who had rescued her was none other than the mysterious Senshi whom the others had described.

"Sailor Moon," the Senshi said in a mellow voice. "Do us the favour of destroying the alien before the effect wears off?"

"Oh...right. MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!" The alien was blown to bits, and the four girls had to do some fancy steps to avoid the goo that came raining down afterwards.

When the air had cleared, Mercury walked up to the new Senshi. "Arigato. I feared that alien was too much for us."

"Your powers are way cool!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.

Jupiter stood with her hands on her hips. "Can you tell us who you are now?"

The Senshi smiled and curtsied. "I am Sailor Chronos."

* * *

The Black Moon women discovered Chibi-usa quite by accident. They were in disguise, walking down the street near Minato-ku Juuban Elementary School, discussing how to get the energy that they needed. Argenta had been disinterestedly watching some children playing a game when she saw the pink-haired rabbit in the schoolyard, talking to a woman in a white jacket who was presumably the school nurse.

They ducked behind some trees across the street and began to plot.

"It makes sense," Argenta began. "If the rabbit has travelled in time, her energy should do just as well as any of the Senshi. The trouble is that if we do anything to her you can be sure the Senshi will be there."

Topaze suggested that in order to distract the Senshi they needed to create a large disturbance. "We could just let a Droid loose, and they'll come running. The Senshi have a strange ability to be wherever something is happening."

"Yes, but they could all show up and destroy the Droid before we can get their energy from them. We have to get them one or two at a time. That would be easier... Just a minute! There was a ripple just now. I'll bet my shopping allowance that an alien appeared and at least a few of them are fighting it at this moment. Take a Droid and find them. By the time you're done I should be finished here." She grinned.

* * *

Chibi-usa was also on her lunch break, chatting with Setsuna. "And then Keri said, 'How can you eat that? It looks more like worms to me.' Fanna couldn't eat anything else after..." She stopped as she noticed that Setsuna was looking at something across the street. "What is it?"

Setsuna shook her head. "I thought I saw someone watching us."

In the very next moment, the ground beneath them trembled and erupted in a shower of dirt, throwing them to the ground. A Droid looked down at them; its cracked skin looked like the parched brown soil of a desert.

Chibi-usa screamed. Setsuna quickly got to her feet, picked the child up and started to run. Teachers in the playground frantically gathered up the kids and hustled them away. Behind them, the Droid laughed. "There is nowhere you can go that I cannot go!"

"Remember, Droid Terria, don't hurt them...too much," Argenta instructed as she walked up behind the Droid. "Just so I can get that rabbit's energy."

"Yes, mistress." The ground shook again as the Droid burrowed its way into the earth.

Setsuna stopped in an alley nearby and put Chibi-usa down. "We'd better deal with this Droid quickly! PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

"MOON PRISM POWER, MAKE UP!"

They had barely finished transforming when part of the street in front of them blew up. Gravel and pieces of pavement flew everywhere. "Well, well. I came to find a rabbit and I find two Sailor Senshi!" the Droid gloated. "This ought to be fun!"

* * *

"Sailor WHO?" Sailor Jupiter was flabbergasted.

"Don't you remember what Luna and Artemis were saying last night?" Sailor Moon said. "There used to be a planet -"

"Orbiting between Mars and Jupiter," Sailor Chronos finished. "That was my planet. It was destroyed by a powerful creature, and I alone survived. I am here because the Black Moon people have found that same creature and are preparing to release it on Earth. I can't allow that to happen."

"I invite you to try to stop us, but you won't have a chance!" yelled a voice. All the Senshi looked up to see Topaze and a blue-skinned Droid hovering above. "Droid Arial, have a blast!"

The Droid flung its arms upwards and began to spin. In seconds, the Senshi were surrounded by a raging whirlwind. One by one they lost their footing and were pulled up into the vortex, spinning and twirling until they were barely conscious. The whirlwind abruptly faded away and they fell to the ground. "I expected a better fight than this," the Droid said, disappointed.

"If it's a fight you're looking for, then you've got one."

The Droid turned to look for the source of the new voice, and found itself pinned to the wall of the school by a black cane.

"Tuxedo Kamen!" Sailor Moon gasped, and tried valiantly to stand but was too dizzy to remain upright.

"Shouldn't you be in study session right now?" Tuxedo asked and winked at her. "As for you..." he addressed the Droid.

"You're dust in the wind, cape boy!" the Droid retorted, and blew Tuxedo Mask back with a huge gust. He crashed through the chain-link fence at the other end of the field.

Jupiter sat up with difficulty and made a throwing motion. "SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" The electrical disk arced toward the Droid but hit the wall instead. "Damn, I missed. Oh my head!" She held her head with both hands.

"You're telling me," Chronos groaned, also sitting up. "STASIS DISK!" Her shot did not miss, and the Droid froze. "Sailor Moon! Can you..." She was unable to finish her sentence, as a wave of dizziness overtook her and she passed out.

Sailor Moon tried to get up again but fell flat on her back. The stasis effect wore off in a few moments, and the Droid walked up to her prone body and grinned. Suddenly Topaze appeared, carrying two small vials.

"What are you doing..?" Sailor Moon asked, struggling in vain to force her uncooperative body to a sitting position.

"Not to worry, we'll be on our way soon," Topaze cooed. She touched one of the vials to Sailor Moon's arm and energy flowed into it. Then she took the other vial and did the same to Chronos. "So. A new Sailor Senshi has appeared. Well, the more the merrier. Soon it won't make any difference how many of you there are. Come, Arial. We're finished here. Bye now!" The two vanished.

"Tuxedo Kamen..." Sailor Moon gasped, trying to see where he had been thrown. She felt dizzy again and couldn't move. Jupiter and Mercury had both collapsed. "Mamo-chan..." Unconsciousness took her.

* * *

"Dead Scream."

The Droid flew apart but reformed itself from the earth and gravel that was scattered about. "If that's the best you can do you'd better give up now." It bent down, ripped a large section of asphalt out of the road and hurled it at the two Senshi.

Pluto leaped up and smashed it with her staff, then attacked the Droid. She rained blows on it but the Droid was as solid as stone. Losing patience, Pluto backed up and prepared to blast it again, but it grabbed the end of her staff and sent her flying across the street and into a wall.

"PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!" Sailor Chibi-Moon's attack was sufficient only to nudge the Droid off balance. It turned and looked at her with an ugly expression, then made a twisting motion with its hand. The road beneath Chibi-Moon's feet wrapped itself around her legs, trapping her. "Let me go!"

Argenta walked into the alley with two vials in her hand. One of them was glowing brightly. "I'll let you go as soon I have what I need, Chibi-Moon. Oh, you'd better find some help for your friend Pluto. She seems to be in a dirty situation." She laughed and touched the empty vial to Chibi-Moon's arm, and it filled with glowing energy. "Let's go, Terria."

When they vanished, the road around Chibi-Moon's feet went back to normal, freeing her. She ran to where Pluto was lying unconscious in a pile of broken brick and earth, and tried to dig her out. "Please be all right!" she pleaded. "I don't want to be left alone!" Realizing that she would need help, she pulled out her communicator. "Usagi?... Ami?... Rei?... Makoto..." She didn't call Minako since she had said that she had a test today.

There was no response for several tense seconds. Finally Rei came on. "Chibi-Moon? What's wrong?"

"Sailor Pluto and I were attacked by a monster, and she's hurt! The others aren't answering either!"

"Stay put. I'll call Haruka and Michiru and tell them to pick you up. Don't worry!" Rei gave a thumbs-up sign and the communicator went dark.

Pluto roused. "Small Lady..?" Groggily she started to pull herself out of the mess. "What happened?"

"That silver-haired Black Moon lady took some of my energy, but I'm okay. Haruka and Michiru are coming; we'll get you someplace safe!"

When Pluto moaned in pain Chibi-Moon sat down, put Pluto's head in her lap, and stroked her hair. Then she watched the road. "Please hurry," she whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

Sailor Moon and all related characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, Toei Animation, and DIC. No copyright infringement is intended.

TIME PREDATOR  
by Sailor Chronos

Chapter Four

Sailor Moon opened her eyes. Everything was blurry, so she closed them again. "Ohhh... what hit me?"

"Usako?"

She opened her eyes again. Looking down at her was Tuxedo Kamen. "Mamo-chan," she whispered. "You're okay."

He helped her sit up and held her to him. "I'm just glad you're all right. That Droid threw me a long way. She would have been a great baseball pitcher if she were human." He smiled at her.

She sat upright abruptly, knocking him off balance. "The Droid! The others! What about them?"

"We're fine." A familiar pale-haired girl walked up, and Sailor Moon recognized her: Lia Jikanno. "It's about time you woke up. Makoto and Ami high-tailed it back to class when they realized how late it was."

"Huh?" She stared at Lia for a moment, then something clicked. Her eyes bugged out. "YOU are Sailor Chronos?"

Lia winked. "I'll tell you all about it later. We both have to get back to school, and I'm sure your masked boyfriend has his own schedule to keep, too." She turned toward the street. "Fortunately I had a study period after lunch so nobody will miss me. See ya!" Lia ran off.

All Sailor Moon could do was stare after her.

* * *

Auburn was laughing. "Well done, ladies! We have potential here after all. You're obviously much more competent than those four girls that Rubeus had working for him." He gestured, and the rack appeared with five glowing vials in it.

"Now that we got the energy for you, what next?" Topaze wanted to know. "Will that creature of yours do what we want?"

Auburn walked around the pentagram, carefully placing a vial at each of the five corners. "Not neccessarily. I have to prepare the spell to release it, and another to make certain it cannot escape. Then we will be in a position to bargain."

"Bargain?" Argenta exploded. "With that?" She pointed at the crystal furiously. "If this thing can be contained in such a small object, why would we have to BARGAIN with it?"

"We are dealing with a very powerful intelligence that feeds on life forces. Unless you want it to feed on US, you'll have to let me manage things." Auburn glared at her, and she shrank back.

"Getting a little power-hungry, are you Argenta?" Topaze smirked. "We all know what happens to people who try to grab too much too fast."

Argenta growled.

* * *

Chibi-Moon didn't have long to wait before a car drove up. Haruka and Michiru got out and helped Pluto into the back seat. "You get yourself back to school, we'll take care of her," Haruka said.

"I want to come with you!" Chibi-Moon said stubbornly. "That awful monster was after me, and she got hurt protecting me. I'll just tell my teacher that I got sick."

"Well..." Michiru and Haruka regarded each other for a moment. "All right, come on."

"Yay!" The girl transformed herself back into her normal self and hopped into the car.

"I hope we don't regret this," Michiru commented.

"We will, when we're disciplined for leaving class early."

They drove back to their apartment and made Pluto as comfortable as possible, then withdrew into the next room to let her rest. When Chibi-usa told them what had happened, they were solemn.

"This sounds serious. Why would the Black Moon people go to so much trouble to get energy from you? They must plan to use it for something." Haruka said.

Michiru nodded. "And something else must have happened to Usagi, Ami and Makoto if they didn't answer you when you called. If another alien or Droid showed up, they would have been fighting it."

"We must all go to the temple so we can find out for certain." Setsuna was standing in the doorway to the bedroom, holding onto the wall for support.

"You should be resting!" Michiru protested.

She waved a hand dismissively. "I'm well enough. I'm convinced that the Black Moon people are doing something horrendous. That story I told you the other evening - let's assume for a moment that it's not just a story. Let's say such a creature exists, and the Black Moon people have it and intend to release it on Earth. To accomplish that they gather certain items that they need: the Crystal Key, and energy from certain Sailor Senshi."

Michiru gasped. "If you're right, we all could be doomed!"

"And Crystal Tokyo as well," Setsuna added. "That must have been the plan all along, and we were kept so busy with the aliens and Droids that we weren't able to piece it together."

"So what do we do now?" Chibi-usa asked.

Haruka stood. "We have to get to Hikawa and warn the others! If Ami can home in on the Black Moon headquarters, we'll go there and stop them!" She brandished a fist.

"I think that the new Senshi might be a key player in all this also," Michiru added. "She only showed up when this started."

"Yes," Setsuna agreed.

"Well come on, everyone!" Chibi-usa said, heading for the front door. "We're wasting time!"

"Time," Setsuna said, "is one thing we'll have little of, if the Black Moon people succeed."

* * *

When Rei returned from school, she found Chibi-usa, Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna waiting for her. One look at their faces told her that something was very wrong, and she invited them in. "Usagi was going to come over after school anyway, but I'll call all the others too."

"And hope that Usagi isn't late," Chibi-usa said.

Rei smirked. "Not much hope of that." She activated her wrist communicator. "Usagi... Ami... Makoto... Minako... Come to the temple right away! Urgent Sailor business!"

Usagi appeared on the display. "I'm on my way!" Similar replies were received from the others.

"I'll do a fire reading before they get here. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"There will be enough to hear when the others come. Suffice it to say, it's bad." Setsuna found a cushion and sat down. "We'll wait."

In due course the rest arrived, just as Rei came back from her session with the sacred fire. Usagi was in the middle of telling everyone how she had run into Mamo-chan while on the way. "He said that it sounded interesting and wished he could join us, but he had to go to work."

"Enough of the chatter, Usagi," Luna admonished. "This is serious and we may not have much time to act."

"That's true," a voice remarked. "Is there room in this meeting for one more?"

Everyone turned. Usagi jumped two feet off the ground in excitement, and Luna stared. "Isn't that..?" Lia was there, leaning casually on the doorway; but the look on her face was anything but casual.

"Lia Jikanno; we met her at the theatre a few days ago," Minako recalled. "What are you dithering about, Usagi?"

"We didn't get a chance to tell you, since we only just found out ourselves," Ami explained.

Makoto said, "She's the new Sailor Senshi."

The others all gaped in surprise.

Luna finally managed to say, "So that's why you looked so familiar. You are from the planet that was destroyed?"

Lia nodded, but saw the skeptical looks on a few faces. "Do I need a password? Or will this do?" She reached up and flicked her fingers, and a wand appeared in her hand. It looked exactly like the star wands that belonged to Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako; except the handle was silver and it bore the symbol of a stylized hourglass.

Artemis recognized it immediately. "Sailor Chronos. That'll do!"

"If the planet was destroyed, how did you survive?" Usagi asked.

Lia closed her eyes. "We were attacked without warning. A terrible creature appeared and drained everyone's energy, then proceeded to destroy the planet itself. I fought as best I could but it was far too powerful for me to handle alone. As the ground broke up under my feet, I heard Queen Serenity's voice in my head, saying 'I cannot save your planet, but I can save you. You will be protected until your powers are needed again.' I don't remember anything else until I woke up a few months ago."

Everyone was shocked into silence. Luna mused, "Strange that Queen Serenity never mentioned that. Perhaps she thought it was better to let everyone believe that nobody survived."

Rei cleared her throat. "Let's get to more pressing business, please. Setsuna has something really important to tell us, which is why she wanted all of us here."

"Earlier this afternoon, Small Lady and I were attacked by a Droid. The encounter was very unlike your experiences with other Droids, from what I have been told. Rather than fight until either we or it was destroyed, it incapacitated us so its Black Moon mistress could get some energy from us."

"That's what happened to us!" Lia exclaimed. "I went to help Usagi, Ami and Makoto battle an alien in their schoolyard. No sooner had we finished it, the other Black Moon woman and a Droid came, and took some energy from me and Usagi." She frowned. "According to Mamoru-san, anyway. I was unconscious at that point."

"But what would they want your energy for?" Makoto asked.

Setsuna continued, "You all remember the story I told about the creature that fed on life-forces and could manipulate time?"

Lia answered her. "That's no story. The creature exists: it's the same one that destroyed my planet. And the Black Moon people have it and plan to release it. That's why they wanted the Key and our energies: as elements of some sort of spell that will facilitate its release."

"That makes sense," Luna said. "You, Setsuna, Usagi and Chibi-usa have all been involved with time in some way, so your energy could serve as a bond for the creature to orient on."

"My belief is that they seek to destroy Crystal Tokyo in the future by affecting this city now," Setsuna said.

"They must be so smug right now!" Usagi put in. "Using our energy for their plans!"

"It gets worse," Rei said. "I was just reading the fire and I learned that the Black Moon people will release the creature very soon! We may even be too late!"

Haruka whipped a fist through the air. "Then we have to get there!"

Ami brought out her little computer. "Fortunately I managed to trace their location before I passed out." A grid appeared with coordinates.

"Let's do it!" Michiru said.

The temple was filled with blazing colour as ten Senshi transformed.

Ami danced away her clothes amid blue bubbly waves. Rei was surrounded by firey streamers and Makoto by shooting electricity. Minako twirled around in a shower of stars. Haruka was in the middle of a column of blasting yellow, while Michiru stood in a column of watery blue. Setsuna spun as purplish energy spiraled down on her. Both Chibi-usa and Usagi were encased in red ribbons.

Lia Jikanno held up her wand and shouted, "CHRONOS STAR POWER, MAKE UP!" Her body lifted off the ground and became transparent. Her tiara appeared first, and her hair rippled and turned white. Then as she twirled, she was surrounded by sparkling silver ribbons that coalesced into her costume. She stopped twirling and a small silver globe circled her waist and formed into her sword.

Luna and Artemis stood on the steps of the temple as the Senshi all ran outside and joined hands in a circle. They concentrated, and streamers of colour shot upwards from each of them.

"SAILOR TELEPORT!" Luna and Artemis said together.

The Senshi were gone.

* * *

Argenta was growing impatient. She and Topaze had been waiting for what seemed like hours. Auburn had insisted on complete silence so he could concentrate on the incantations. He was now sitting on the floor of the room in a cross-legged position, waving his arms in a strange pattern while chanting in an ancient language. Finally, he stood and began to say something intelligible.

"Creature, I call you! I call you in the name of Metallia the ravager! I call you in the name of Beryl the fallen! I call you in the name of Vindalla the lost! You must enter this continuum and pay me heed, for I would give you sustenance!"

Nothing seemed to happen. Topaze and Argenta gave each other fake disappointed looks.

Auburn walked toward them. "Now we wait."

Topaze was about to make a snide remark, then saw something happening at the pedestal and gasped. The other two turned to look.

The crystal was glowing brightly. Then it suddenly shattered, revealing a dark pulsing form that gradually changed into the shape of a beautiful woman wearing a red dress.

"I am Eternia. Who has freed me?" she asked in a sultry voice.

Auburn stepped up. "I have. You are bound to consume only these energies, and not harm me or my accomplices."

One by one, the vials at the corners of the pentagram shattered and the energy within formed into miniature images of the people from whom the energies had been gathered. Eternia gracefully leaped off the pedestal and walked around the inside of the pentagram. As she passed the image of Auburn, she pointed a finger at it and it dissipated. "You had better make your request of me quickly," she advised. "I have been imprisoned far too long and need more than these tiny morsels."

"My wish is to annihilate the present-day city called Tokyo so that my people in the future will triumph!"

Eternia passed the image of Sailor Moon and it puffed into nothing. "You want to change the future by affecting the present. Not the most simple of tasks, but not the most difficult either."

"But you can do it?" Argenta asked spontaneously.

"Most assuredly," came the response. "However there is one flaw. Annihilating the city will not cause the effect you desire."

Auburn scowled, somewhat annoyed. "How so?"

She gazed at him, appearing to see through him. "Your people will leave this planet because they do not wish to be ruled by its queen. Subsequent rebellions against the queen and her court will be unsuccessful, so you come to the past to alter the future. If the present-day city is destroyed, the city of the future never comes to be. Your people do not exist, and you do not exist to be here to free me. A paradox." She pointed at Sailor Chronos' image, which dissipated.

"Okay, so the city's out," Topaze said. Auburn made a slicing motion with his hand in an effort to silence her, but she ploughed on. "I have a suggestion."

"And?" Eternia's hand was poised over the image of Sailor Pluto.

"Something I heard. There's a girl in this city that's called Sailor Moon. She grows up to become the queen you speak of. Get rid of her, and there will be no queen."

"Sailor Moon. A constant irritation to your people. Numerous attempts to assassinate her fail. If she does not become queen, Crystal Tokyo will not exist, as it is created with the help of the ginzuishou which only she can use. Again, a paradox." Pluto's image winked out.

Auburn swore in frustration, but Argenta quickly stepped in front of him. "There remains one option. Destroy Crystal Tokyo in the future."

"That is possible. But I currently lack the strength to travel that temporal distance and exert my full powers. I require life-forces on which to feed." Chibi-Moon's image quivered and melted away. "Soon." She jumped back up on the pedestal.

Auburn was about to reply when there was a sound behind them. A translucent bubble appeared, containing ten young women standing in a tight circle. "The Sailor Senshi!" he exclaimed. "They can't interfere now! Argenta, Topaze, take care of them!"


	5. Chapter 5

Sailor Moon and all related characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, Toei Animation, and DIC. No copyright infringement is intended.

TIME PREDATOR  
by Sailor Chronos

Chapter Five

The bubble faded away and the ten Senshi quickly arranged themselves into a battle formation. In front of them stood Argenta, Topaze and the two Droids, Terria and Arial. But their attention was drawn to the creature that stood on a pedestal at the far end of the room. It looked like a woman in a red dress, but the power that emanated from her was beyond anything they had encountered before.

Sailor Pluto gasped in horror. "We're too late! That's..." She gulped and couldn't continue.

"A Chronovore," Sailor Chronos said quietly. "The scourge of time."

The woman smiled, baring perfect white teeth. "Scourge? That all depends on your viewpoint."

"Look out!" Chibi-Moon cried as the stones under their feet began to shift. The Droid Terria was trying to get them off-balance.

"Talk about manners!" Sailor Moon protested as she fell on her rear. "Is this how you greet guests?" She scrambled to her feet again. "We're here to put a stop to your plans once and for all, Black Moon scum! I am the pretty Sailor-suited soldier Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon..."

All the Senshi struck the battle pose and pointed. "WE WILL PUNISH YOU!"

"You've picked the wrong time and place for a fight, Sailor Senshi!" Argenta cackled. "This is our turf!" She cupped her hands in front of her, and a shining baseball-sized globe appeared. "Time for you to make an exit!" She threw the globe at the Senshi and they all leaped out of the way as it detonated on the floor, leaving a large crater.

"SHABON SPRAY!" The whole area fogged. Argenta and Topaze both swore, but the Droid Arial called up a wind and blew the fog away. However the brief respite had given the Senshi time to regroup, and they were ready.

Sailor Jupiter stepped forward. "Hey air-head! SUPREME THUNDER!" The lightning struck Arial, who flew backwards into a wall. Her antenna bristling with electricity, Jupiter edged cautiously toward the Droid, followed by Mercury. "It's payback time for that stunt you pulled!"

"FIRE SOUL!" A fireball crashed into Droid Terria, who shrieked and melted, but it reformed itself from the stones that were scattered around the floor. "This one is going to be difficult," Mars said as Venus joined her.

Topaze flung out a hand and twirled; from her hand spouted a flaming orange ribbon that spiraled toward Pluto. She dodged and attacked Topaze with her staff, and Sailor Chronos dove in from the other side with her sword. This Topaze had not expected, and was forced to go hand-to-hand with two Senshi. "Help, Argenta!"

"I'm busy right now!" Argenta was facing off Uranus and Neptune. "You Senshi will never win!" she gloated and threw a globe at the two. They were blown off their feet but otherwise were unharmed.

"Your Droid hurt my friend, lady!" Neptune shouted. "If you mess with one of us..."

"You mess with both of us!" Uranus finished. "WORLD SHAKING!"

Argenta managed to dodge the incoming earthquake, but was caught by Neptune's blast of water.

Auburn was watching the whole battle from a safe distance. "Looks like the odds are against us right now. Let's even things up a bit, shall we, Eternia?"

Eternia regarded him mildly. "Not yet. I'm interested to see what happens. The combat may prove entertaining." At Auburn's outraged exclamation, she smiled again. "You may have released me from my prison and bound me to this spot, but I still have my intelligence. I can't be ordered around like one of your Droid lackeys."

"Listen to the lady, mister." Auburn turned to see Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon confronting him. "No woman likes to be pushed around, and I'll see to it that you don't push anyone around any more!"

"You're no match for me, Sailors Moon," Auburn said and casually waved a hand. A golden energy beam flung the two Senshi away from him. "But I don't have to waste my powers on you." He snapped his fingers and another Droid appeared. This one had smooth black skin and glowing white eyes. "This creature has no name, since no name exists that can describe it. But its power is such that nothing can withstand it." He pointed toward the two and the Droid advanced.

Arial recovered from Jupiter's initial attack and tried to sweep both Jupiter and Mercury into a whirlwind. "Grab my hands!" Mercury yelled, and Jupiter complied. "Spread out your body and balance yourself, the way skydivers do! That way we'll be held in the centre of the vortex. The Droid can't be able to keep it up for long, then we can finish it!"

Mercury's idea paid off. They floated, suspended in the calmer area in the middle of the winds. Soon the whirlwind slowed and dissipated, leaving them on their feet and unharmed. The Droid stared at them in confusion; it had obviously expected them to be unconscious.

Mercury immediately attacked. "SHABON SPRAY!" Arial became encased in bubbles, and it thrashed around in an unsuccessful attempt to get loose. Then Jupiter acted. "SUPREME THUNDER DRAGON!" The Droid screamed as the huge dragon-shaped electrical field bore down on it and swallowed it in one gulp. When the electricity faded away there was nothing left of the Droid but its crystal.

Mars and Venus were in trouble. No matter what they did, Terria always managed to reform itself from the rubble that was scattered around the room. Both were bruised, having been pummelled by rock showers.

Mars threw an ofuda. "Akuryou Taisan!" The Droid just shrugged it off, laughing.

"We have to separate it from the floor somehow!" Venus said. At that moment, Terria caused the floor to buckle and wrap around both hers and Mars' legs, immobilizing them. "Hey, no fair!"

"Yes, fair." The Droid grinned evilly, and the rock around their legs began to creep upwards. "What's to stop me from encasing your heads in stone and suffocating you?"

"This!" Mars shouted in desperation. "FIRE SOUL BIRD!" The firebird descended, and although the Droid attacked it with showers of rock, it was ineffective as the rocks melted when they touched the flaming construct. The bird screamed and picked up the Droid in its mouth, and carried it into the air. "CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER!" Venus's attack weakened the Droid further, then the firebird chomped it. The stone around their bodies returned to normal when the Droid perished, and they collapsed, almost exhausted.

Topaze was valiantly holding off both Pluto and Chronos with a flame-coloured sword. "I've had enough of this!" she snarled and swiped her sword in a circle. Flame ribbons shot out of the blade and swirled around the two Senshi, who were in such close proximity that they had no time to dodge. Crying out in pain, they crashed to the floor as Topaze laughed. "So much for you two! I can hardly believe that I defeated two of the most powerful Senshi single-handed!" she gloated.

"We're not defeated yet, Black Moon witch!" Chronos gasped, forcing her burned, tortured body to stand. "I haven't survived against impossible odds and slept for centuries to be stopped now!" She stood with her legs apart and her hands together as if in prayer. "TEMPORAL!" Her hourglass symbol stood out on her forehead as waves of silver energy began to circle around her. "FORCE!" The energy waves gathered in front of her to form a globe with tiny hourglass shapes whirling around it in multiple rings. She spread her arms wide. "DISSOLUTION!" And brought her hands together with a resounding clap.

The globe flew away from her and engulfed Topaze. The woman yelled in surprise, then horror as her body slowly changed from radiant beauty to mediocrity to withered old age. She dropped to her knees, shuddering in pain and shock.

Chronos also fell to her knees, drained.

Pluto sat up and stared at the now frail Topaze. "What..?"

"You have a forbidden ability to close the passage of time. That was my forbidden ability: to age a person to the extent of his or her lifespan. I hate using it; I swore long ago that I never would do that to a human being unless the situation was truly dire."

Argenta had noticed the flash and saw Topaze age from youth to ancientness in seconds. Abandoning her conflict with Uranus and Neptune, she ran toward the perpetrators and blasted them with one of her energy bombs, blowing them to the far end of the room. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO TOPAZE!" she screamed.

"She got what was coming to her, and so will you!" Uranus shouted. "Never turn your back on a Senshi!"

Jupiter and Mercury hurried up. "Get ready to rumble, silver-hair!"

Sailor Moon's scream diverted them all, and they looked toward the sound. Auburn was still standing next to the pedestal. He and the Chronovore were watching the unfolding events with interest. A new Droid had appeared, which had imprisoned Sailor Moon and Chibi-Moon in black bubbles. It turned toward them and smiled, almost benignly, and its eyes flashed.

Auburn surveyed the battlefield and took stock of the situation. Droids Arial and Terria had been destroyed, and Topaze was now useless. Argenta was surrounded by four Senshi, but the other four were injured. He believed he still had the upper hand. Now he had Sailor Moon and her small counterpart in his clutches, and with the help of the Droid and the Chronovore, he would triumph.

"You do recall that you are obliged to hold to the time line if you wish to triumph," Eternia reminded him, as if she had read his mind. "If Sailor Moon is destroyed, your reality will not exist."

"I may not be able to destroy her, but I can make her suffer. Suffer for all the trouble she has caused and will cause my people!" He turned to the Senshi that were still standing and waved a hand toward them. "If you want to rumble, Sailor Jupiter, I'm sure my servant would be happy to do so." The Droid walked forward and held its arms wide.

"Not another Droid!" Mars cried, frustrated.

"That's no Droid!" Chronos was aghast. "That's a Void!"

"Indeed it is, Senshi," Auburn replied. "Such lovely creatures. They take orders without question, and have the ability to nullify anything. Oh, forgive me for not knowing your name. It seems that this detail was not made known to me." He glared at Argenta.

"Topaze and I couldn't tell you because you were so busy with the spells!" Argenta stammered.

"She is Sailor Chronos," Eternia supplied. "Guardian of a planet that used to be part of this solar system but is no more."

"Because you destroyed it long ago!" Chronos snapped. "I have a major score to settle with you!"

Auburn laughed. "If you couldn't stop her before, it is highly unlikely that you could do so now, especially in your present condition. But what is past or present no longer matters. Once you Senshi are taken care of, I shall fill the Earth with darkness. Then I will return to the future with Eternia and become king! A glorious future awaits for the Black Moon!"

The Void gestured and a wall of black energy flowed across the room. As it advanced, the shattered rocks, craters and other remnants of the battle disappeared, leaving the floor pristine. Each Senshi that it passed was trapped in a static bubble, as well as Topaze and Argenta.

With one exception.

As the wall drew near, Chronos thought frantically. If she were trapped along with the rest of them, there would be nobody to stop the Black Moon from taking over. There had to be a way to prevent the Void's stasis effect from touching her! Instead of using her own stasis power offensively as a disk like she usually did, could she create a defensive field with it? It was worth a try.

She held her hands in front of her and concentrated her power on a point just beyond them. "STASIS SHIELD!" The shining disk appeared, formed itself into a globe, then expanded to encircle her. The black energy passed over her shield, leaving her unharmed. She sighed with relief, and the field vanished when she dropped her concentration. Grabbing her sword, she stood up.

"How can this be?" an outraged Auburn yelled and threw a beam of golden energy at her, which she barely dodged. "Destroy that Senshi!" he hollered at the Void.

"Not today, pal. STASIS DISK!" She threw her disk and immobilized the Void before it could do anything, then attacked it with her sword. It shattered into dark fragments which crumbled into dust when they hit the floor. With the Void gone, the bubbles all burst, and the people inside were freed. "You're history!"

Then she wavered, realizing that she didn't have any energy left.

All the other Senshi ran up, and Venus put an arm about her to help steady her. Jupiter was supporting Topaze.

"How could you do this to me, Auburn!" Argenta raged. "Trapping me with the rest of them like a bug in amber? What happened to the plans, our great goal?"

"There is a goal, but I never said anything about your being able to share it with me, my dear. There's only enough room for one ruler, and we both know who that will be." He looked up at the Chronovore, who was still on the pedestal. "Shall we be leaving?"

Argenta howled in fury and threw herself at him. "You're not going anywhere! I'll make you PAY for this treachery, then I'll return to Crystal Tokyo and become queen!"

"You? Hah! You couldn't rule an ant colony, Argenta!"

The Senshi were stunned at this turn of events, and could do little but stand and watch as Auburn and Argenta fought. One moment they were blasting each other, and the next they were going hand-to-hand. In the middle of it all, Eternia was laughing. "My, such unpredictable people! How entertaining."

"Should... have... warned him," Topaze whispered. "I suspected that Argenta might try to depose him. I... don't want any more of... this." She sagged, and Jupiter began to have trouble holding her.

"Chronos, can your aging effect be reversed?" Mercury asked. "She's dying. We're supposed to help people, not kill them."

"No, it's not reversible. I regret using my full power on her, but I didn't have much choice at that moment." Chronos sighed.

"Could I heal her with the crystal, like I did with Cooan and the other sisters?" Sailor Moon asked.

Mercury nodded. "That's possible, but even if you did she might remain an old woman instead of reverting back to her normal self. Plus we still have the Chronovore to deal with."

An explosion brought their attention back to the battle. Half the floor had been blown apart by an energy bomb, and Auburn sat in the centre of the crater. His golden suit was burned in several places. "You're good, Argenta," he said heavily, "but not good enough." He tried to stand but failed.

"Save it!" Argenta stood at the lip of the crater, another bomb in her hand. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now!"

"Because I can tell Eternia to take your life force!"

"Really? You can't fool me! You crafted the spell so she couldn't harm you or me or Topaze."

"I specified that she couldn't harm my accomplices." He managed to stand, but was shaky. "As of this moment, you are no longer one of my accomplices. You're on your own!"

Argenta gasped, and turned to look at Eternia, who smiled her infuriatingly perfect smile. "NO!"

"Chronovore, hear me!" Auburn instructed. "Absorb the life forces you need, then let's be on our way!"


	6. Chapter 6

Sailor Moon and all related characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, Toei Animation, and DIC. No copyright infringement is intended.

TIME PREDATOR  
by Sailor Chronos

Chapter Six

Argenta screamed as the Chronovore leaped lightly from the pedestal and walked to the edge of the pentagram closest to her. "Please, don't take me! I'm sure that the Sailor Senshi are better! NO!" She suddenly gasped for air and fell to the floor. She still breathed, but her eyes stared up at nothing.

"ARGENTA!" Topaze cried.

"We're not going to go without a fight!" Uranus yelled.

"You got that right!" Sailor Moon added, and held up her hands. The Grail appeared. "CRISIS MAKE UP!"

Eternia watched as Sailor Moon transformed, but didn't seem at all surprised. "Not to worry, you won't have to fight me," she said and waved her hand. The walls of the room became transparent, and a crowd of people could be seen walking on a busy street. One of those people clutched his chest and fell to the ground, and she licked one of her fingers dramatically. "Hmm. Interesting taste to that one."

"What are you doing!" Auburn demanded.

"You told me that I could take the life forces that I needed. You didn't specify that it had to be from the Sailor Senshi. Quite the oversight on your part, wouldn't you say?"

"Indeed." He was barely able to control his fury at such mutiny. "Then take the life forces from the Senshi!"

Eternia waggled a finger. "I'm sorry. You made the mistake, and must suffer the consequences. I will return with you to the future, as per our bargain, but for now you must leave me alone while I feed." She leveled her gaze at him, and her voice became hard. "Unless you want me to forget that I'm not allowed to harm you."

"She might not be able to harm you, but WE can!" Sailor Venus said. "Your time is up!"

"Rotten Senshi! This is all your fault!" Auburn looked at them all, then noticed Chronos. "If it hadn't been for your new friend, I would be king of Crystal Tokyo right now!" He shot a gold beam at Chronos, but she was still too weak to dodge. She crashed into the floor and lay unmoving.

"Chronos!" Neptune knelt down beside her and felt her neck. "NO! She's gone!"

"FIRE SOUL!" "CRESCENT BEAM!" Mars and Venus combined their attacks, and the resulting energy bolt caused Auburn to stagger backwards and fall to his knees.

"Super Sailor Moon, now's your chance!" Mars encouraged her.

Moon reached up and her Spiral Heart Moon Rod appeared in her hand, but she hesitated. "I don't know. He's not just another youma or Droid. I can't destroy him."

"If you don't," Pluto warned, "He'll command that creature to feed on us! Do you want that?"

"Now's not the time to worry about ethics!" Uranus said. "He just killed Chronos! If you don't do it, Neptune and I will!"

"No." Super Sailor Moon removed her locket from her chest and aimed it at Auburn. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!" Pink streamers spiraled out of the locket and wrapped around Auburn, and he screamed. His body was lifted up, then it slowly faded away. She stared at the place where he had been. "What the..? That hasn't happened before!"

Mercury put a hand on her shoulder. "You couldn't heal him. Apparently there was no goodness in his heart for the crystal to find: all he had was evil and hatred and the lust for revenge. At least you gave him a better death than he would have had if you had used your Moon Rod."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." At that moment her power-up wore off and she reverted to Sailor Moon.

"Guys, we still have a BIG problem," Jupiter said.

The Chronovore was watching them. "Sailor Moon, you have destroyed the person who wove the spell which bound me. Thank you. I am now free to do what I wish. Do join me for dinner, Sailor Senshi." She snapped her fingers.

And the universe stopped.

"So what happens now?" Chibi-Moon asked. "And just what are you, anyway?"

"Interesting questions, little one," Eternia said. "My kind exist outside of space-time, and can feed on time itself. Some believe that we are essential to the balance of the cosmos. Natural laws do not apply to us; we can do anything. However, as you have seen, we can be contained by certain rituals." She looked at the drawing on the floor, and flicked her fingers at it. The chalk lines vanished.

"We could make another spell!" Sailor Moon suggested.

"No time," Topaze said weakly. "It took Auburn hours to do it."

"Then we have no choice but to fight," Neptune said.

"And have her drain us all like she did to the people on Chronos's planet?" Jupiter retorted. "That doesn't appeal to me!"

Topaze shook off Jupiter's supporting arm and staggered toward Eternia. "Wait."

Eternia shook her head. "Don't say 'wait' to a Chronovore, dear. It annoys us." She regarded the people that were beyond the transparent walls of the room. All were frozen in time. "I have been imprisoned for so long, and this lovely planet teems with life. Such sweet and tiny lives."

"If you still need a life force, you can take mine. I'm now old and can barely function. Take me, spare the Senshi and their planet."

There was a chorus of "What?" and Sailor Moon asked, "Why are you doing this?"

Topaze smiled. "The desire for revenge and destruction can be blinding. I never realized how cruel my people actually could be... until now." She looked first at the comatose Argenta, then the body of Chronos. "It's true that my people left... will leave... because they don't want to be ruled. They only want a home for themselves. However when they have problems they are unwilling to solve them on their own and blame the Queen of Crystal Tokyo for everything. It's not right."

The Chronovore folded her hands thoughtfully under her chin. "Why do I like the sound of that?"

"Perhaps because you're not all what you seem," Sailor Moon said suddenly. "Maybe you're not the awful creature that we've been led to believe. You've lived a long time and must be very wise."

Mercury joined in. "It could also be that you didn't just destroy Chronos' planet for the fun of it. If Auburn could bind you, others must have bound you also. You may have been ordered to destroy the planet against your will. If that is so, then you are not wholly to blame."

"That is true. Long ago, there were incantations that have since been lost. I may have been forced to do things and not remember." Eternia walked over to where Chronos lay and touched her. The gem on her tiara glowed brilliantly for a moment, then her eyes opened.

The other Senshi watched in wonder as Chronos stood up and looked into the eyes of the time predator. "How..?"

"I am not without mercy. Consider my debt to you paid," Eternia said. "Now," she turned to Sailor Moon. "Since you freed me, Sailor Moon, I am obliged to offer you what you wish for. Even Chronovores adhere to... shall we say, codes of conduct?"

"I... I wouldn't know what to ask," Sailor Moon stammered. Then she cleared her throat. "All right. Restore Topaze to normal."

Eternia seemed to look right through her. "In a warrior's heart dwells such compassion! You surprise me, mortal. Few people do. What you wish is done." Before their eyes, Topaze became her former youthful self. "Now just one thing remains. I am very hungry, and this planet has much to offer."

Jupiter smacked a hand to her forehead. "Sailor Moon, you baka! Couldn't you have asked her to not eat everyone on the planet?"

"Oops."

Mars turned on Moon furiously. "The whole planet is about to be sucked dry by this... this creature, and all you can say is 'oops'?"

"I have an idea!" Chibi-Moon spoke up. "Eternia, please let me talk to you."

The Chronovore curtsied. "Little one, you show much courage. Very well. You can tell me your idea, but if I don't like it, the people are dinner."

Chibi-Moon gulped, then began to speak shakily. "It's something I remember happening a long time ago, but it hasn't happened yet. A great disaster occurs, and the world falls into a frozen sleep. After many years my mother, Neo-Queen Serenity, uses her power to awaken it, and creates the city of Crystal Tokyo. But so she can do this, the surviving people have to be purified by the ginzuishou. Those that don't want to be cleansed choose to leave Earth and become the Black Moon people."

Topaze nodded. "That's what I was always told."

"But nobody ever found out what caused that disaster," Chibi-Moon continued. "I think I know now. You did it."

Eternia raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Why would I have done such a thing?"

"Because only you could have done it. I would not remember it, nor would I even be here, if it hadn't happened. You could ensure all our futures, and satisfy your hunger at the same time."

Eternia burst out laughing. "You are wise beyond your apparent years. I can accept your statement, since there is evidence in physics and in my nature that I have done these things." The Crystal Key appeared around Chibi-Moon's neck. "I believe this is yours. Farewell, Sailor Senshi." She bowed, and everything went white.

* * *

Eleven young women found themselves in the park near the Hikawa temple. It was dark, and a bright full moon was rising. They looked around briefly in confusion, then Venus commented, "Wow. What a way to travel!"

Luna and Artemis ran up. "Thank goodness you're all back safely! You were gone so long that we feared the worst!"

"Usako!"

Sailor Moon looked up to see Tuxedo Mask standing in a patch of moonlight. "Mamo-chan!" She ran to him and flung herself into his arms. "I'm so glad you're here. We had such an awful time!"

"I was so worried, Usako. It was frustrating to feel that you were in trouble, yet I could do nothing but wait."

Topaze walked over to them. "This may sound crazy, Sailor Moon, but I wish there was something that could have been done for Argenta. She was my friend... at least, I thought she was."

"Even if I'd tried, there would have been no guarantee that it would work. It seems that I can only heal someone if there's some good left. Perhaps it's better this way." Then she looked squarely at Topaze. "Do you want me to try it on you?"

She bowed her head. "You're too kind, offering that when I did so many awful things to your friends. Go ahead, I have nothing to lose now."

Sailor Moon opened her locket. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

The pink streamers flowed out and encircled the Black Moon woman. She was twirled gently around, and the black crescent on her brow faded away. When she was set down, she stood smiling. "Thank you... I feel so much better now. You know, your Earth is such a lovely place, I don't think I'd mind living here." She giggled. "Maybe I could even look up the four sisters."

"Sailor Chronos?" Mercury called as she noticed Chronos begin to walk away. "Where are you going?"

Chronos paused. "Actually, I don't know. My mission is over. I suppose Sailor Moon could use the ginzuishou to return me to cryosleep until I'm needed again..."

Several of the Senshi chorused, "You can't mean that!"

She laughed. "I didn't think you'd like the idea any more than I do. Tell you what, I'll just stick around for a while. I like it here, and I've made at least a few friends, I hope."

"You sure have," Sailor Moon said.

"Fine then." Chronos transformed herself back into Lia Jikanno, and grinned. "And maybe I'll just show up now and again if you guys ever get into big trouble!"

Everyone laughed. "You're welcome here any time," Mars said.

"Thanks. Gotta book it! I have an exam tomorrow!" She ran off.

"HOMEWORK?" the rest of them shouted, except for Pluto and Topaze.  
"Uh, I gotta go!"  
"I can't believe I forgot!"  
"I hate chemistry!"  
"What page was I supposed to do?"  
"We're in major trouble!"  
"I don't care about any stupid homework, I want to be with Mamo-chan..."

THE END

Sailor Chronos  
February 1997


End file.
